Unisex · #6,171 in 2026

Yuan

Yuan is a name with a single cultural origin: Chinese.

  • Chinese
Current Rank
#6,171
Peak Rank
#6,171 (2024)
Total Babies
160
5-Yr Trend
+22%
👧 Girl peak #12,198 (37 total)
👦 Boy peak #6,171 (160 total)
👦As Boy Name
1984
First Year
2024
Last Year
2024
Peak Year
#6171
Peak Rank
160
Total Count
21
Years Active
👧As Girl Name
2012
First Year
2024
Last Year
2012
Peak Year
#12198
Peak Rank
37
Total Count
6
Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Yuan

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Yuan is a name with a single cultural origin: Chinese.

Origin data from Behind the Name .

Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)

  • Chinese

The Story of Yuan

As a girl name

American parents first put Yuan on the record books as a girl name in 2012, with 8 registered babies. Its peak popularity came in 2012, when 8 Yuans were born — ranking #12,198 that year. About 70% of every Yuan on record arrived during the 2010s, its defining decade. Yuan last appeared in the published SSA data in 2024, with 5 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 37 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 2010s to the 2020s.

As a boy name

Yuan first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a boy name in 1984, with 6 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 2024: 14 births, good for #6,171 nationwide. About 41% of every Yuan on record arrived during the 2010s, its defining decade. Yuan last appeared in the published SSA data in 2024, with 14 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 160 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1980s to the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Girls Boys

Popularity by State

ME
WA
MT
ND
MN
WI
MI
NY
VT
NH
MA
OR
ID
SD
IA
IL
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
NV
WY
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
DC
UT
CO
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
AK
AZ
NM
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
HI
TX
FL
Top 10
11-50
51-100
101-500
500+
No data

Names that sound like Yuan

Phonetically similar names — useful when Yuan is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Yuan

What does the name Yuan mean?
Yuan is a name with a single cultural origin: Chinese.
What is the origin of the name Yuan?
Yuan has roots in the following cultural and linguistic traditions: Chinese.
How popular is Yuan in 2026?
In 2026, Yuan ranks #6,171 among boys' names in the U.S., with 14 babies given the name that year.
When was Yuan most popular?
Yuan reached its peak popularity in 2024, ranking #6,171 that year with 14 babies given the name.
In which U.S. states is Yuan most popular?
Yuan has historically been most popular in Puerto Rico, California. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Yuan.
Is Yuan a unisex name?
Yes — Yuan is used for both girls and boys in U.S. records, with about 19% of Yuans assigned female and 81% assigned male historically.
What names go well with Yuan?
Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Yuan include Rein, Osher, Farzad. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

About the name Yuan

Yuan is a unisex baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1984 and has accumulated 160 births in the dataset. Yuan's peak popularity came in 2024 when it ranked #6,171. Use the chart and map above to compare Yuan's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

  • Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
  • Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
  • Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
  • Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
  • Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.